Plan for Birtcher Center Advances : Development: Laguna Niguel Planning Commission approves commercial complex despite neighbors’ protests.

Despite angry protests from dozens of residents, the Planning Commission Thursday unanimously approved plans for a commercial center at La Paz and Aliso Creek roads.

The 335,000-square-foot Birtcher Center would include two restaurants, a health club, a movie theater and an office building. In additional phases, three more office buildings might be added.

But some residents in the Lake Chateau community across the street from the site said the development would be a constant source of noise and traffic congestion.

“You’re going to have major traffic in an area where hundreds of kids cross the street to the county park,” said Ken Tokash, 46, a Lake Chateau resident and father of three children. “You’re going to have accidents down here.”

The redesigned plans approved Thursday include moving the location of the restaurants as well as shrinking their size to provide more parking space on the 12.8-acre site. Also proposed is a reduction in the height of two of the office buildings from four floors to three.

Officials expect that the City Council will vote on final approval in late November.

Also Thursday, commissioners listened to testimony from residents, city officials and attorneys about another development: a 32-lot subdivision on 22 acres of ridge-line property overlooking South Laguna.

Landowner Jack B. Binion wants to build 176 housing units on the site at the end of Skyview Way, but the city says he has formally applied to build only 32 units. City Atty. Terry Dixon said that any change in plans requires another application to the city and new environmental impact reports.

Binion’s attorneys filed this week in Superior Court in Santa Ana asking the court to remove the city’s community development director, the city’s 10-person planning staff as well as 10 consultants contracted by the city from involvement in the Binion project. The petition asks that the court appoint a staff to act on behalf of the city on the evaluation process of the Binion project.

Dixon, who read the complaint which was delivered to the city Wednesday afternoon, said he “finds no merit” in the Binion petition and added that the city will resist any effort to force the planning staff to stand down on this land-use issue.

The public hearing to discuss the environmental impact report on the Binion property, which has a 45-day review period, will be continued on Oct. 27.